People in the Project: Dr Fynn Warnke
Role in Ngā Ngaru Wakapuke
Fynn is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow hosted at Earth Sciences New Zealand and funded by the Walter Benjamin Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG). As part of his DFG-funded project SEAFAULT, Fynn contributes to Ngā Ngaru Wakapuke RA4 'The Foundations'. He aims to advance the understanding of active fault structure, segmentation, and connectivity in the Cook Strait using newly acquired marine seismic reflection data, contributing to national earthquake and tsunami hazard assessment frameworks.
Originally from (relatively flat) northern Germany, he enjoys exploring New Zealand’s diverse and spectacular nature while tramping and additionally plays basketball.
Research background
Fynn completed his PhD in Geology with a focus on Marine Geophysics at the University of Auckland in 2025. His research investigated the origin and development of pockmarks on the Chatham Rise offshore Canterbury using acoustic and seismic data.
Before coming to New Zealand in 2021, Fynn worked as a Data Engineer at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany. There, he played a key role in developing the workflow to create the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO), a regional mapping initiative supported by the Nippon Foundation – GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project.
Current research
In his current role, Fynn is processing new marine acoustic and seismic reflection data acquired during research voyage TAN2505 with R/V Tangaroa in late 2025. Based on this dataset, he will then map and characterise the geometry and segmentation of active faults in the shallow subsurface in Cook Strait to refine current records of earthquake timing and recurrence intervals by exploring paleoearthquake indicators from seismic data.
Publications
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Warnke, F., Pecher, I. A., Strachan, L. J., Hillman, J. I. T., & Crutchley, G. (2026). Fluid Pathways and Sources Driving Recurring Pockmark Formation on the Chatham Rise, New Zealand. Basin Research, 38(5), e70143. https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.70143
Warnke, F., Pecher, I. A., Strachan, L. J., Hillman, J. I. T., & Dugan, B. (2025). Cyclic Pockmark Formation Linked to Plio-Pleistocene Sea-Level Rise on the Chatham Rise, New Zealand. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 26(12), e2025GC012265. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GC012265
Warnke, F., Pecher, I. A., Hillman, J. I. T., Davy, B., Woelz, S., Gorman, A. R., & Strachan, L. J. (2023). Pseudo-3D Cubes from Densely Spaced Subbottom Profiles via Projection onto Convex Sets Interpolation: An Open-Source Workflow Applied to a Pockmark Field. GEOPHYSICS, 88(6), F51–F69. https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2023-0171.1
Warnke, F., Schwenk, T., Miramontes, E., Spiess, V., Wenau, S., Bozzano, G., et al. (2023). Evolution of Complex Giant Seafloor Depressions at the Northern Argentine Continental Margin (SW Atlantic Ocean) under the Influence of a Dynamic Bottom Current Regime. Frontiers in Earth Science, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1117013
Hillman, J. I. T., Watson, S. J., Maier, K. L., Hoffmann, J. J. L., Bland, K. J., Warnke, F., et al. (2023). The diverse morphology of pockmarks around Aotearoa New Zealand. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1235928. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1235928
Dorschel, B., Hehemann, L., Viquerat, S., Warnke, F., Dreutter, S., Tenberge, Y. S., et al. (2022). The International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean Version 2. Scientific Data, 9(1), 275. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01366-7
Warnke, F., Gebhardt, C., & Niessen, F. (2020). Glacial-Interglacial Cycles Largely Controlled Mass Movements during the Late Quaternary in Lake El’gygytgyn, Siberia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109506
Dziadek, R., Doll, M., Warnke, F., & Schlindwein, V. (2020). Towards Closing the Polar Gap: New Marine Heat Flow Observations in Antarctica and the Arctic Ocean. Geosciences, 11(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11010011
PhD Thesis
Warnke, F. (2025). Investigation of the Origin and Development of Pockmarks on the Chatham Rise using Acoustic and Seismic Data (PhD thesis). University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/2292/74339
Open research software
Warnke, F. (2025). fwrnke/QGIS-pockmark-analysis (Version v0.1). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14903037
Warnke, F. (2023). fwrnke/pseudo-3D-interpolation (Version v0.1). https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.7647496
Dreutter, S., & Warnke, F. (2020). Cruise Tools (Version v2.3). Retrieved from https://plugins.qgis.org/plugins/cruisetools/